Professor Alys Young

Professor of Social Work

Judges’ Choice
An image of Professor Alys Young

I am Professor of Social Work at the University of Manchester where I also co-lead the SORD research group – a Deaf and hearing group working in BSL focussing on inequalities in health and social care affecting d/Deaf people across the lifespan.  

I am also a distinguished visiting professor at the Centre for Deaf Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.  I was conferred a fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2016 in recognition of my contribution to the field of social research with d/Deaf people, and to social work.

In 2016, I won the Times Higher Award for outstanding research supervisor of the year. I am also a senior fellow of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) School for Social Care Research (SSCR). I currently lead the national longitudinal study of deaf youth in transition to adulthood and the first study of the impact of interpreter mediated Mental Health Act assessments

Having lived with a serious debilitating condition most of my adult life, a great deal of my research work and academic teaching and student support is driven by a commitment to social justice, in all its forms.  Anything I am able to do to unlock the latent potential and talents of others is a key motivator in redressing the consequences of structural and interpersonal inequalities. I have previously served the University of Manchester as the Academic Lead for Disability Equality.

“I have never been one for lofty ambitions, but life has taught me that striving to be authentic in all relations alongside others takes you places you never expected to go.”